Photo Retro: 2006-03-18 - SA vs Aus at Newlands

 

One of the first cricket photos I took. Pictured is Shane Warne bowling to Jacques Rudolph, taken from the Railway Stand at Newlands.

SA had won the preceding ODI series 3-2, with the last ODI on 12 March being the famous 438 game in Joburg. This was the third day of the first Test.

The Proteas had batted first and folded for 205 with Stuart Clark taking a fiver on debut. A creditable effort by a Proteas bowling lineup in transition restricted Aus to 308. SA second innings went no better ending on 197. Aus chased a target of 95 down with seven wickets in hand and would go on to win the series 3-0.

I can't say I remember the day clearly, but it's likely I would have spent it drinking Bosun's Bitter and getting sunburnt.

Shot was taken with a Fujifilm FinePix A350. I'd bought the camera in December 2005 at the beginning of a summer road trip back to the Eastern Cape. EXIF tells me it was taken at f4.7, 1/500s, ISO64, and a focal length of 17.4mm. The latter can't be right - it would surely have been more like the 105mm maximum supporting the advertised "3x optical zoom".

Fair Play and Good Behaviour

"But we understand there's a line you can't cross. You can go close to it, but you can't cross it. I think generally Australians play cricket extremely fairly, and play sport extremely fairly."
 ~ Michael Clarke

Clarke has come out in defence of his team's behaviour. I think this deserves some calling out.

Drawing a line between fair play and good behaviour is a red herring. Clarke and his men certainly do play fair, in that they don't cheat. If anything they tend to play fairer than average. Australian teams tend to see fewer match fixing scandals, fewer bent-elbowed spinners, and more walkers than other teams.

But good behaviour is not the same as fair play. Over the last two years Clarke's team has regularly crossed the line into unacceptable behaviour for a cricket field. There's prior here. Australian sledging has always been legendary, and Steve Waugh's doctrine of mental disintegration was well known. Both skirt the line bordering on boorish behaviour; neither are against the rules of the game. Clarke's men have physically confronted umpires and opposition players en mass, which crosses way over the line of what's acceptable. That behaviour might be tolerated on soccer fields, but it has no place in a game of cricket.

The Australians get away with this because of their place in the Big Three and because the morality of world cricket is still overwhelmingly Anglo-centric. Imagine if the Bangladeshi team massed to confront an umpire about a decision. If a Pakistani player sprouted some of David Warner's lines to the media. If the West Indian fielders broke out in dog howls to see a batsman off (and if it was a Muslim batsman?). Those players and teams would have been instantly and heavily disciplined.

The rest of the cricketing world is going to need to put up with Clarke and his team's ugly and ungentlemanly behaviour, because the authorities are on his side. That sword cuts both ways, so the most that the rest of us can look forward to is watching some disrespectful bad behaviour from Virat Kohli when India visit the land of Oz.

SA v Aus: Rounding Up The Calls

The world of cricket moves fast enough these days that keeping to a one-post-per-week schedule feels like a plodding pace as news races past. As I write this Nepal have just thrashed Hong Kong on the opening day of World T20. More about that next week. Maybe.

In this post I'm going to look way way back into ancient history at the Australian victory in the Test series against top ranked South Africa. This won't be a wordy series review or well thought out retrospective. No, this evening we're going to tally up the pre- and mid-series trash talk and see how it panned out.

~~~~o~~~~

Aussie Trash Talk Roundup

Nobody talks smack like the Aussies. Let's see how they did.

"This Australian attack is the best in the World." ~Michael Clarke
Fired off before the Ashes were even over, this one got the South Africans justifiably heated up. Now that the dust has settled it has to be said that Clarke's fast men out bowled their Saffa counterparts. However Australia ended the series with a different pace attack than they started with, and Lyon's spinners were no better than JP Duminy's.
The call: EVENS

"I think he [Johnson] probably is the best fast bowler in the world at the moment." ~Craig McDermott
I'm willing to let the stats speak for themselves here. Mitch sure is on fire. Hope the toe comes right soon.
The call: WIN

"Still 'bull....', Graeme?" ~Daniel Brettig after the first Test.
Port Elizabeth followed a few days a later.
The call: FAIL

"I would have liked to see him [Vernon Philander] bowl at Adelaide in that second Test when he apparently hurt his back." ~David Warner
Vern bowled his share of hard overs during the series, albeit without much success. Warner's series was dazzling, but he can't justifiably accuse his opponent of shirking any work.
The call: FAIL

"The boys have learned how to play him [Vernon Philander]." ~Peter Siddle
With seven wickets at 51, the Aus top order sure seemed to have worked out how to play Philander.
The call: WIN

"They did it better than what we did, or more obvious than what we did." ~David Warner, on ball tampering
Warner followed up by accusing AB's wicketkeeping gloves. I don't think much needs to be said about this one.
The call: FAIL

"Low and slow, it [PE] is the sort of wicket that threatens to kill cricket instead of the batsmen who play on it." ~Malcolm Conn, after Day 2 at PE
This pretty much summed up the Aussie whining during and after the PE Test. Conn was singing a different tune after day 4.
The call: FAIL

"David Warner’s lack of respect making Australia look like whingers." ~Malcolm Conn
When a low-brow critic like Conn - whose column is written at a 8th grade reading level using the maximum number of monosyllables and single-sentence paragraphs - disses you like this it's pretty embarrassing. Good on Mr Conn.
The call: WIN

~~~~o~~~~

Alan's Calls

Because we're all about objectivity over here. Let's take a look at my own pre-series predictions.

"My money is on Ryan Harris as the danger man"
Mitch sure did pitch, but I stand by this prediction. One has only to watch the highlights of the last Test and read the post match press coverage to see how important Harris is to the side. The Australians will be hoping that he makes a swift post-op recovery.
The call: WIN

"If Steyn, Philander and Morkel stay fit enough to play all the games the Proteas will probably win"
Steyn's fitness struggle was pretty clear, and Morkel wasn't without niggles. So I've got an out here. Still, they took the field in all the games, so...
The call: EVENS

"The senior [batsmen] in Smith, Amla and de Villiers are going to need to collectively make up the extra man"
I'll stand by this one too. Too bad Smith's head was in a different place.
The call: WIN

"Clarke is world class [...] Of the rest, I've always rated Warner and Spud Smith. The rest are a mix of overrated senior pros and unproven rookies."  
The first half was a bit of a no-brainer, but I'll take credit for it anyway. The second was born out by the performances of Marsh, Doolan and Rogers.
The call: WIN

"Tail end runs [will be] a vital difference."
Both tails scored runs, but neither was that vital to the results.
The call: FAIL

"And finally... Sledging"
Again, a no brainer in any Aus/SA context. If anything the Aussies have gotten worse over the years. Maybe the stump mikes are just better. 
The call: WIN

~~~~o~~~~

One All

Despite a slow track, Smith's continued lack of form, being one bowler down (dammit Parnell!), being without a specialist spinner and a day five rainstorm literally looming on the horizon the Protea's rose to the occasion and handed out a lesson on what it takes to be number 1. Not for nothing have they held that rating fo the past 18 months.

There's lots that could be said, but to paraphrase cricinfo commentor SurlyCynic I think that the comments posted all over by Aussie fans pretty much sum it up:

Before the Test: "It doesn't matter what the pitch is like, Johnson will destroy you!"
After Day 1: "Pitch doctoring! This is the perfect anti-Mitch pitch! - slow and low, totally unlike the usual PE pitch which is... erm, slow and low."
After Day 2: "SA got lucky wickets. Aus will recover to make 400. AB is the world's most boring batsman to watch"
After Day 3: "Rain is forecast for day 5!"
After Day 4: "We were screwed by the umpiring decisions!"

Further commentary from me will wait until after the deciding Test at Newlands. It doesn't look like I'll be getting there in person, but you never know....

Capitulation

The last five years have been a golden age for South African cricket - clearly the best since readmission and certainly among the best of our cricketing history. In one week, on and off the field, we've seen the first glimmers of the future. It ain't pretty.

In the board room, CSA's troupe of administrators surrendered to the will of cricket's Big Three. They were bought for depressingly little. I wish I'd been wrong, but it was an easy call to make. With CSA on board, the BCCI and it's two brides got their way and everyone else began their new lives as official lower caste citizens in the cricketing world. The last hold outs, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, abstained. I wish them luck with their continued resistance and would like to apologise on behalf of all South Africa to their fans for our bungling bureaucrat's abject surrender. Time will tell whose path was the right one to choose.

With that last sad act the saga of the ICC restructuring came to an end and there was a gap for actual cricket to take center stage. The Proteas duly followed their board's lead by throwing in the towel against a red hot Australian team. Gaps and weaknesses that have been slowly appearing in Graeme's Smith's team were rapidly wrenched open and it wasn't long before the wheels came off completely. There are two Tests to go but there needs to be a whole lot of improvement if we're going to save the series from here. We got out of jail against Pakistan and India, but I don't know if we can hope for a third such result in a row.

In the board room, CSA say that they have been promised more fixtures for the national team. We will know more once the Big Three finalise their bilateral agreements. No prizes will be awarded for predicting who such agreements will be arranged to suit. Those of us in the lower caste of cricket playing nations will just have to wait and see how the scraps of the rich are divvied out.

On the field, the Proteas will have better days than last week. We might even pull off another miraculous series rescue against these rejuvenated Australians, and even if we don't we will still be ranked #1. The golden era will continue for a while; AB, Dale and the others will fight the dying of light for some time yet. But our first post-Kallis Test has shown us that nothing lasts forever, especially not sporting success.

The wheel always turns, but this time there is a difference: the hand spinning it is the BCCI, ECB and CA. Power in the board room might not directly project across the boundary, but control over the flow of money and the scheduling of fixtures sure doesn't hurt your teams chances. The Proteas of the 2010's could be the last team outside this Big Three to dominate Test cricket.

Here Come The Aussies

When I started writing here I thought it was going to be about cricket. Instead for a month it's been mostly ranting about ICC politics. This hasn't been helped by my relative lack of interest in the Ram Slam T20, the Big Bash or Sri Lanka v Bangladesh.

Well it's time to change that. Hot from thrashing the old enemy, Australia have landed in the Republic and they're here for the serious business of three Tests (plus some T20's that nobody will remember).

Let's see what the series will be all about...

~

Fast Bowlers

ht: The News

Because while Nathan Lyon will take some wickets and Robbie P will score some runs, in any Oz-SA series it's gotta be all about the quick men

The pre-series hype is naturally focused on Mitchell Johnson. He's fast, he's mean, he demolished the English and he has a good record against South Africa. He's broken Smith's hand twice and he's blooded Kallis. Pictures from OR Tambo suggest he may have even regrown his Ashes 'tache, but that may just have been shadows from the long haul flight.

Now Mitch is pretty fierce, but my money is on Ryan Harris as the danger man. He's class act whose career has been held back only by injury. Like Australia's version of Shane Bond, when Harris plays Australia look like a different team. Axeman Siddle will toil effectively and Mitch may or may not pitch, but a key battle of the series is between Harris' deadly swing and seam and the Protea's Kallis-less top order.

As always at home, if Steyn, Philander and Morkel stay fit enough to play all the games the Proteas will probably win. No doubt the Aussie "best attack in the world" bluster has got them suitably fired up. Who backs them up will be interesting too, which leads us to...

Jacques Kallis

ht: India Times

Or rather, the lack thereof.

This is the series where South Africans will first confront the post-Kallis future. Word seems to be that the strategy will be to move Faf to number four, to keep AB keeping at five (making him effectively the replacement all rounder for JK) and play one of McLaren or Parnell as a bowling all rounder at seven.

However you slice it the Proteas will be playing with one less batsman than for the last decade. At the same time this depleted lineup are up against the best bowling lineup they've faced for a while (Pakistan fans may disagree). The likes of Alviro Petersen, Faf du Plessis and arguably JP Duminy are never going to be more than average Test batters, so the seniors in Smith, Amla and de Villiers are going to need to collectively make up the extra man.

There's no way to replace a player like Kallis. How South Africa deal with his absence will be crucial to the teams fortunes for the next few years, starting now.

The Aussie Batsmen

ht: Zimbio

Because they've been pretty rubbish for a while now.

Clarke is world class and will get some runs, but the rest were poor at home against a wonky English attack. That Brad Haddin was the stand out in the lineup shows up how bad the rest were. BJ is a good keeper-batsman but he can't be saving the day every time around.

Of the rest, I've always rated Warner and Spud Smith. The rest are a mix of overrated senior pros and unproven rookies. Not too many remain from the lineup that was smoked for 47 at Newlands last time they were here, but this lot are going to need to be on top their game to avoid a similar fate.

Trash talk aside, the Proteas attack have been the scourge of all comers for years now. Whether or not the Aussie batsmen can scrape together enough runs for their bowlers to defend may well decide the series.

Tail Enders

ht: Cricket Dawn

Because it's going to be carnage at the top of the order.

This might not be everyone's pick, but my feeling is that tail end runs are often a vital difference between two sides with strong bowling attacks.

Both tails look reasonably strong. Johnson, Harris, Siddle and Lyon stack up pretty well against Peterson, Philander, Steyn and Morkel. With Watson at three Australia will probably have an extra batsman at seven, where the Proteas look like they'll make do with McLaren or Parnell. Still this one is anyone's race.

After the dust has settled and the shine has worn off the ball the runs those names can put on the board will make a big difference to the series result.

~

And finally...

Sledging

Premature bravado from the Aussie players in advance of the series has only been matched by Aussie fans on the forums rudely predicting a certain whitewash in favour of their team. As usual on cricinfo I'm genuinely puzzled by how such one eyed semi-literate rants get posted and my insightful and balanced comments are always moderated away.

Anyway. Posturing and online flame wars aside, it'll be a close series. The Proteas are starting favourites and I'm calling a 2-1 score line in their favour. Now to see if I can make a plan to get down to Newlands for at least some of the deciding Test...

ICC Power Grab Leaked

Image from Zimbio

I would have written something caustic about the leaked news of India, Australia and England's sordid plans for the ICC. Anyone who's been vaguely following cricket could see this coming and can see where this is going.

But Jarrod Kimber has already said all that needs to be said. I have nothing to add to his commentary except to urge you to follow the suggestion he makes at the end of his post.

England, Squashed

So the Aussies have whitewashed their way back to possession of the Ashes. I expected the result, but not the margin of victory

Image from Drive Cricket

There's no worse winner than the English, and after the 3-0 home series and the first day of the first test they'd gotten positively insufferable. As things turned out, that was their last good day of the series. As Mark Nicholas puts it, that was the last English gloat of the summer.

Now I enjoy watching England getting beaten as much as the next guy, and no one can say that they didn't have it coming, but by the end it was like watching a vicious boy kicking a paralysed dog. Even the Aussies were glad when it was all over. I don't know how the wheels came off the English machine so completely, but the only way from here is up. After all they're still a decent side.

For England Stokes' debut was the only hightlight. He's young and keen and checks two important boxes in (1) being non-English and (2) having a single-syllable surname. I predict a bright future for him in team England.

For Australia, the coming together of Johnson, Harris and Siddle as an attack is no doubt the high point. I'm looking forward to seeing them in a month here in the Republic. If they all stay fit and in form it'll be a feast of a series for fans of fast bowling. Whoever is replacing Kallis in the lineup (and my money is on Elgar or McLaren) had better pack the chest protector and forearm guards and start cranking the bowling machine up to max.